Title: Forced Home

Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine, but I would love to own Chris for one night.

A/N: Written as a drabble request that got slightly away from me. Completed short short. Feedback always appreciated

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When Chris wasn't helping the sisters with some demon issue or meeting with possible informants in the underworld, he usually found himself holed away in his room at P3. He would sit at his desk, hunched over possible timelines and any books he could get his hands on, all in the hopes that one day it would provide him with the answers he needed. He would've settled for it triggering anything-a thought, an off-the-wall possibility-like the cartoon lightbulb flashing over his head.

He had to save Wyatt. There was no other option for him because all those alternatives involved something he couldn't face. Maybe his brother had always been right about him, maybe he was a coward, the scared little momma's boy who couldn't stand up for himself. He guessed it didn't really matter what the reasoning as long as it worked - as long as his brother could be normal or, at the very least, not an all-encompassing evil.

This night wasn't much different from those nights before. It began in much the same way - the worries, the cross-eyes from too much reading, and no luck whatsoever - until Paige orbed into his room with Phoebe in tow. She pushed the papers off his desk and with the flick of her wrist, all his books closed while Phoebe walked over to his closet and started rifling through his belongings.

This didn't bode well.

Chris jumped up and away from his desk, folding his arms, and exclaimed, "Privacy! It's not a hard word to understand!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Paige countered.

Chris rolled his eyes and stared at her, "You heard me say that I needed some time alone."

"For what? So you can wallow and get even more neurotic?" Paige paused as she orbed an empty bag from under his bed. She patted Chris' cheek in this part-loving-part-condescending way and added, "No can do, Chris. You've had months of private time and now you need to come home."

"This is as much of a home as I've got at the moment."

Phoebe dropped a pile of shirts and pants into his bag and replied, "Sweetie, you belong at the manor with your family…with your mother."

Chris shook his head and replied, "So that things can be awkward and weird all the time? Thanks, but no thanks."

Phoebe stared at him for a minute. He couldn't help but wonder if that potion he had taken had somehow worn off and now she could read him like a book. He swallowed hard and said, "I'd rather stay here."

"I think that's a mistake, but it's your decision," Phoebe replied.

Phoebe picked up the clothes she had just put down, only to have Paige slap the items out of her hands. Paige glared from Phoebe to Chris, focusing on Phoebe first and replying, "He has no choice in this matter." Paige turned around toward Chris and pointed her finger at him, "You have no choice in this matter! As of tonight, you live at the manor. Your home."

Chris tightened his arms around himself. He was frustrated and slightly moved by his aunts' annoying gesture. He wanted nothing more than to let his guard down - to go back with them, spend time with his family, and allow everything else to fall away. Sometimes it was so hard to keep fighting this unknown danger alone, sometimes all he wanted was to stop his mother from going after that one demon that took her away from him, sometimes it took all his willpower to keep from unloading on the first person to offer up a cheerful, "how are you?"

But he couldn't do that. He wasn't here to get a second chance with his family or to experience the life that he had always wanted. This was a mission to save the future and Wyatt. Nothing more. He couldn't allow his emotions to cloud his reasoning and he knew that moving to the manor would do just that. He knew that moving home would be bad and the possible repercussions were something he couldn't face. It was common sense really, but explaining that to Paige was going to be damn near impossible.

"Chris! Earth to stubborn nephew!" Paige said, waving her hand in front of his face.

He let out a loud breath and replied, "I appreciate the offer, but it's not a good idea."

"Again with the you-have-no-choice thing," she replied. She glanced at Phoebe and said, "What are you waiting for? Get the rest of his stuff!"

Phoebe rolled her eyes and muttered, "You'd think she was the older sister." She moved back over to his closet and picked up a tiny bottle from the floor. As she spun around to toss it in the bag, she lost her footing and dropped it on the ground.

Chris and Paige stopped bickering as they heard the bottle crash to the ground and watched the contents spill onto the floor. A small cloud formed in the air above their heads for a brief second before disappearing and Phoebe clutched her hands over her nose and mouth, "What kind of cologne is that?"

Chris looked at her, "Cologne? I don't wear-" He paused when he noticed the shattered jar. He moved over to the closet and said, "Oh gross. That wasn't cologne, that was Scabber fluids."

"Fluids?" Phoebe questioned. When it dawned on her what he meant, she shuddered, "Ew! I could have demon pee on me."

"Why does it smell like that?" Paige wondered aloud, her eyes tearing against the smell.

Chris scowled, "I don't know, Aunt Paige. I've never hung out in a demon bathroom."

"Okay, better question. Why did you have it in your closet? Is this some sort of weird fetish thing that I don't want to know about?" Paige replied.

"You're disturbed. You know that, right?" Chris replied. He grabbed the bag off the bed and said, "It's a long story, involving a possible scenario with a mystic to locate whoever turned Wyatt evil."

Paige crossed her arms, "I like long stories. How about you, Phoebe?"

Phoebe glared at her sister and said, "I prefer long stories out in a park with the smell of flowers!"

Chris sighed and said, "If you really want to know, I'll tell you, but can we get out of here first? The smell is starting to permeate my clothes."

Phoebe hopped over the bed, settling in between Paige and Chris, and replied, "Don't have to tell me twice."

As soon as they orbed into the manor, Phoebe ran to the front door and opened it. She breathed in the fresh air and sighed blissfully, "Air! Non smelly air! I can breathe again!"

Chris watched his aunt with an amused grin, but removed it when he caught Paige staring at him. She smiled and said, "It's too late. I saw an emotion!"

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you planned for that to happen."

"Chris, smell me! Do you really think I would go to such awful lengths to get my way?"

"You're forgetting I know you, Aunt Paige."

Paige shrugged and said, "I wish I could say the same, but don't worry, I plan to fix that."

"I'm only staying here until that smell is gone."

"It was a bad smell, Chris. It might take weeks, months even," she replied. She motioned to stairs and said, "Why don't you go shower before you start to smell any worse and I'll go inform your mother that you've come to your senses and are staying here."

"Fine, but you get to tell her what you and Aunt Klutzy did to the club and how it probably has to be closed for the night," Chris added. He noticed the horrified look on Paige's face and grinned evilly at her as he retreated up the stairs before she could change her mind.

Maybe being forced home wouldn't be such a bad thing, no matter what the repercussions might be.

Fin